Dr Simon LawrenceSolid State Chemistry. Controlling matter at the nano-scale with emphasis on compounds of pharmaceutical interest. Structural control of the crystalline state, involving crystal engineering, supramolecular chemistry and polymorphism.

Dr Justin McCarthySignalling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of disease. Cell signalling in normal/diseased tissue. Drug target discovery, validation and assay development. Identification/characterization of disease-relevant alterations in presenilin functions and how these may pertain to pathogenesis/progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Gerard P McGlackenOrganic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Molecular design and synthesis, new synthetic methodology and application to total synthesis and molecules of biological importance. Specifically, the asymmetric substitution of ketones and the area of C–H activation/direct arylation.

Dr Tim O’SullivanPharmaceutical Chemistry. Development and optimisation of synthetic strategies towards biologically active products and the subsequent analogue synthesis. Novel, chiral tethers for the control of intramolecular, aryl-aryl coupling and their application to the synthesis of axially chiral biphenyls which display anti-HIV activity.